Jennifer Rushall, President
My name is Jennifer Rushall and I am the President of the Scoliosis Association of San Diego. I am 26 years old and was born and raised in San Diego CA.
At the age of eight, I was diagnosed with severe Scoliosis/Kyphosis and Charcot Marie Tooth Disease. I walked on my tippie-toes for as long as I could remember, but it was a P.E teacher at my school who noticed it was more than just a bad habit. The doctors did not want to operate because I was so little but because of the degree of the curves they had no choice. My first back surgery was when I was 10. At this time I had a 58* Scoliosis curve and a 98* kyphosis curve. I wore back and leg braces, before and after each of my five surgeries. This includes having rods put in at the age of twelve and having them removed due to a staph infection less than a year later. Other complications included a collapsed lung, foot drop and a hump in my back from the old rods.
My limitations did not stop me often however, in between surgeries I went to school, got good grades, participated in our school’s Jr. Olympics and joined the Drama Club. Other people ignorance did stop me on occasion. I was often taunted and bullied because of my differences. When I was a senior in high school I decided that I wanted to help other’s be more aware of disabilities and more specifically Scoliosis. My senior year I contacted my school nurse about a lecture for kids about my experience with Scoliosis and tolerance in general. My mom had done this with me when I was a kid to help us learn as much as we could about Scoliosis. Throughout the surgeries and braces, my family and I had looked for some sort of support group to help answer questions and have other's to talk to, but could find none. We thought that with so many of San Diego's hospitals and doctor's specializing in Scoliosis that there should have been something out there.
My last surgery was when I was sixteen. My doctor was a pediatric doctor and I was being seen at Children’s Hospital so I was no longer allowed to see my doctor after I turned 18. Two years ago I started having a lot more pain in my back. I found a new Scoliosis doctor but I really wanted someone who could understand how I felt, to talk to. I decided that I would again look for a support group for Scoliosis. After doing some research I found out that the closest support group in the San Diego area was in Orange County. I contacted Norm Lipin, President of our Orange County chapter, to ask if he had heard about any groups closer to San Diego. He introduced me to Karen Stephens who was also looking for a Scoliosis Support group and together we started our own chapter here in San Diego. With the help of Norm and Judith Lipin of the Orange County Scoliosis Association, we had our first meeting February 12, 2005 with Dr. Kamshad Raiszadeh as our first speaker.
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